School of Professional Studies

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Education

The Program

Providence College offers three education programs on the undergraduate level: a major in elementary/special education, a secondary teacher’s preparation program, and a music education program.

All teacher education programs offered by the College have been approved by the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Interstate Certification Compact. Some individual states may not offer separate certification in the area of history and instead only issue certificates in social studies; students completing programs in history secondary education may not be eligible for certification in history in those states through the process of reciprocity.

Education majors are required to have and maintain a grade point average of 2.50. In addition, students must meet specified criteria at four points in the program: admissions, monitoring, readiness to student teach, and approval for licensure. These criteria include successful participation in a portfolio review. For a complete listing of the criteria at each point in the assessment system, refer to the Department of Education’s Student Handbook. Finally, students must achieve required scores on standardized preprofessional and professional tests of content knowledge and pedagogy.

Teacher Preparation Licensure

Three hundred clock hours are required for secondary education students in biology, chemistry, English, history, mathematics, physics, social studies, Italian, French, and Spanish; and 400 clock hours for elementary/special education and music education teacher candidates.

Education Diversity Requirements

In helping to prepare future teachers to work effectively with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds, education majors must fulfill the following diversity requirements:

1. Completion of at least one course from an approved list of diversity electives; the diversity elective may also satisfy a Core Curriculum requirement, meet a minor requirement, or fill a free elective slot;
2. Completion of at least one practicum experience in an urban setting;
3. Demonstration of the ability to prepare and implement lessons that include effective strategies for working with students from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Music Education

For students interested in the music/music education program, please refer to the Department of Music section of this catalog.

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